Chimera Chaos
by Phoenix-cry
Summary: Something fishy is going on around the SGC and the team is learning more about each other than they ever wanted to know... short story
1. Chapter 1

Chimera Chaos

Chapter One

"Thanks, but...um...I'm not really a jewelry kind of guy."

"Jack," Daniel growled quietly "you're embarrassing me, and insulting her...just wear it."

"Why?"

"It's a gift, clearly part of their culture. Humour me."

"Fine." Jack sighed.

Jack leaned forward and allowed the ornately dressed Priestess to clasp the delicate looking silver necklace around his throat. The small brightly polished opal-like stone that hung from the chain glittered with a fire of its own.

"I'm going to have to draw the line if there's earrings that go along with this."

Sam bit her tongue to keep from giggling. She glanced over at Teal'c and to her surprise she noticed that he was doing the same. Sam looked around at the natives gathered around for this gift giving ceremony. They had only been on this planet a few days, but they seemed to have made a good impression on the friendly, yet silent, natives.

Laughter was the only sounds these peaceful forest dwelling people seemed to make. Other than that they didn't appear to have a spoken language of any sort. It was actually a bit unnerving, particularly for poor Daniel. He always had a hard time wrapping his mind around the idea of a civilization without a written or spoken language.

It had taken some time but Daniel had eventually found a way of at least communicating to them that the team wasn't a threat. After that they were treated to a tour of their homes that lay in perfect harmony with the woods around them. Now the woman that Daniel guessed to be some kind of High Priestess had presented them each with one of the stunning necklaces. Looking around Sam saw that there wasn't a single man, woman, or child that didn't have one.

They reminded Sam strongly of the Nox, only quieter. There was a feeling that there was a technology here so advanced that it had reverted once again back to nature, but there was no immediate signs of it. Interrupting Sam's thoughts Jack cleared his throat and looked around in his restless way.

"Well...not that this hasn't been fun," Jack said somewhat politely "and not that you haven't been wonderful hosts, but we really need to get home."

"We've barely just arrived." Daniel protested. "We have so much more to learn here."

"Danny, we're surrounded by mimes...what else is there to know?"

"Ja..."

"We're leaving."

"Aren't you even the least bit curious?" Daniel sighed.

"No." Jack replied. "And for good reason. Curiosity killed the cat."

"That's only half of the expression, Jack."

"Really? What's the other half?"

"'...but, satisfaction brought him back'."

"You just made that up."

"Actually," Sam chimed in "he didn't, Sir."

"Well, it doesn't matter. We're leaving. If you want to come back later I'm sure SG-someone-else will be more than happy to baby-sit for you."

Daniel rolled his eyes in helpless frustration. There was no arguing with Jack, it was worse than trying to argue with a brick wall. At least with the right equipment a brick wall could be moved.

Sam looked back to Teal'c and once again the normally stoic Jaffa flashed her a grin of shared amusement. Daniel had given up the fight for the moment, but she was confident that Jack had not heard the last of this. The team said good bye to the Priestess, she smiled and giggled in return.

Back at the base Sam sat on one of the medical beds patiently going through the routine medical check. She'd lost track of how many of these she'd been through, at least one for each planet she'd returned from. Which was another number she'd lost track of over the years.

"Nice necklace." Dr. Frasier commented.

"What?" Sam asked.

"The necklace, I don't think I've ever seen you wear one while on duty...other than your tags."

"Oh right, I'd forgotten about it." Sam admitted. "I think it was a gift."

"You 'thi..."

"Daniel, I don't want to hear it." Jack argued in the background.

"Just because they didn't have weapons doesn't mean that they don't have technology or even just culture that we can lear..."

"Doc, are we done here?" Jack asked, cutting Daniel off.

"Yeah, you're all clear." Dr. Frasier replied. "In fact you can all leave."

Jack did leave, but Daniel stalked after him. Sam smiled, those two never seemed to see eye to eye on what planets were worth the team's time, or on anything for that matter. How they remained friends was sometimes a mystery to her.

In need of a shower after three days on a forested planet Jack headed towards the locker room. He could hear Daniel following him, but he did his best to ignore him. Once in the locker room he pulled off his shirt. He briefly noted that he was still wearing the sparkly necklace but decided against bothering with it and started rummaging around in his locker for his soap.

Jack stopped as he was suddenly struck by an almost overwhelming desire to return to the planet they'd just stepped away from. The feeling was so counter to his actual thoughts that he fought it bitterly for a moment. However this new found curiosity could not be ignored.

"On second thought maybe we should go ba..."

Jack started to say as he turned around. He was cut short when he caught sight of his friend standing uncomfortably close behind him. He'd been so distracted by his own thoughts of return to the planet that he hadn't even noticed his approach. Daniel was starting at him with an expression like he'd never seen Jack before and seemed somewhat horrified by what he saw.

"Dani..."

Jack was cut off as Daniel aggressively pulled him into a shockingly passionate kiss. Jack was momentarily frozen by the sheer surprise of the unexpected move. Quickly coming to his senses he shoved Daniel away with enough force to throw him back into the metal lockers. Jack spat violently and rubbed his forearm across his mouth. Daniel was having a similar reaction, spitting several times on the concrete floor.

"What the hell was that?!" Jack roared.

"I...I don't know..." Daniel stuttered and then spat again. "I...I suddenly..."

"Lost your mind?!" Jack provided helpfully.

"Yeah, I...I think so..."

Daniel rubbed the back of his hand over his mouth, looking more than a little green around the gills. He shook head violently. Spitting again he turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Jack demanded.

"I have brush my teeth."

"I noticed." Jack snarled.

Jack hastily retrieved his shirt and put it back on. Daniel hadn't made it more than a few steps when the Base's general alarm went off. He and Jack exchanged a concerned looked.

"Gateroom." They said in unison.

Forgetting their incident for the moment they both rushed back to the Gateroom. The scene was complete chaos. At first all they could do was stare. Five soldiers stood with their weapons ready to fire. They were aiming at Teal'c, who was holding Sam by the wrists. Bright red blood dripped from an obvious gun shot wound in Teal'c's upper arm.

"Stand down!" Jack barked at the men.

"Teal'c?" Daniel asked in concern.

"I'm fine." Teal'c growled.

"What's going on in here?!" Jack demanded.

"I...I just shot Teal'c." Sam admitted. "I'm so sorry..."

"What?!" Jack exclaimed. "Why?"

"I...I don't know...I...I suddenly...just felt this rage against him. Like I...I...suddenly..."

"Lost your mind?" Daniel provided helpfully.

"Yeah, I...I think so..."

Jack was getting more agitated by the second. An hour ago life and everything in it made perfect sense. Now everything was absolute chaos, bordering on insanity. He wished that Hammond didn't have the day off. He could use a little help here. Even in his own mind his thoughts were starting to stumble over one another.

However what was bothering him the most was losing control of the situation. In a desperate attempt to regain command he ordered the five guards out. However no one left, they just started at him blankly.

"What did you just say?" Daniel asked shocked.

"I said...wait, what did I say?"

"I'm not really sure...it was in about seven different languages." Daniel said in surprise. "Four of them Alien."

"No, not possible." Jack argued. "I barely know English."

"I know, your grasp of Alien grammar is no better."

"For crying out loud, what the hell is going on here?!"

Everyone froze. The last statement was something they were used to hearing from Jack, but it had been Teal'c speaking the words this time.

"This is not good." Daniel muttered.

"Teal'c go to medical, now." Jack ordered. "You five are dismissed. Carter, try not shoot anyone. Daniel, keep a minimum of five feet from at all times from now on. ...Was that all in English?"

"Indeed." Daniel replied and then furrowed his brow at his own word choice. "I meant 'yes'...mostly away."

"Good, then hop to people!" Jack barked.

Teal'c hesitated but he released Sam and left for medical. The five soldiers left shortly there after. Sam had already dropped her gun, but now she kicked it away. Having somewhat restored order Jack turned on Daniel.

"Now then, Daniel, you were muttering something about this not being good. Did you just mean in general, or have you figured something out?"

"I figured something out."

"Care to share it with the rest of us."

"Actually, I don't think that's going to be a problem...if anything just the opposite..."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"We're what?!" Jack roared.

"Interconnecting." Daniel repeated. "I think somehow our minds are mixing, first it was just raw uncontrolled emotions, then it quickly turned to personality traits and abilities. It explains a lot."

"I don't see how that explains anything!" Jack spat in Arabic.

"Hey, I understood that." Sam said in disbelief.

"It makes perfect sense, well maybe not 'perfect'..." Daniel shook the thought off. "You're talking in tongues because you can't control all the languages I know, Sam tried to kill Teal'c because she was channeling his symbiot's rage, I kis..."

"Stop right there." Jack warned.

"I'm just saying that it's clear that we're not acting like ourselves," Daniel continued "we're acting like each other."

"Okay, that's it, vacations for everyone." Jack stated seriously.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Clearly we've been working too closely for too long. As soon as Junior heals Teal'c I want each of you to pick a different country. Scratch that a different planet and spend at least two weeks there. No contact with each other of any kind. Especially you, Daniel, I want you as far away from me as conceivably possible. You're always griping about wanting to go to Atlantis, if you can find a way to get there...go for it."

"I highly doubt that this has anything to do with working together." Daniel protested. "Something's causing this."

"Well, think of a way to 'uncaused' it!" Sam snarled angrily. "Sorry, Daniel...I didn't mean to snap at you."

"It's not your fault." Daniel smiled. "The temper is clearly Jack's influence."

"Ha ha." Jack said sardonically. "Seriously, Daniel, fix this."

"Yes, Sir." Daniel replied without thinking.

"'Sir'?" Jack repeated. "This is getting worse by the second."

"Maybe not," Sam pointed out "maybe it's actually getting better."

"Whoa, Carter, what makes you think that?"

"The fact that I think it too?" Daniel offered.

"Indeed." Sam agreed and then shook her head.

"What are you two babbling about?!"

"In a way we're slowly gaining control over what is happening." Sam tried to clarify. "It's almost as if whatever is going on here is...is..."

"Calibrating." Jack muttered.

"That's exactly the word I was looking for."

"A word I shouldn't even know." Jack sighed.

"But one that fits perfectly." Daniel pointed out. "At first we experienced just a raw and powerful emotion that wasn't our own. Right before I..."

"Daniel." Jack growled sternly.

"Sam's going to know eventually." Daniel sighed. "I assume it was her...unless you think it was Teal'c."

"Know what?"

"Nothing." Jack insisted. "Assumptions are dangerous, Danny-boy, it could have just as easily been 'me'...I do have a fairly high opinion of myself."

"Fine, it doesn't really matter, the point is, you were just about to say something about going back to the planet when it happened...right?"

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"Maybe." Jack admitted.

"Why?"

"I...uh...I was..."

"Curious?" Sam asked with a knowing smile.

"Maybe."

"And are you still curious?" Daniel asked.

"No. Not in any sense of the word."

"Sam...do you still feel like killing Teal'c?"

"No, of course not."

"So clearly whatever the caused the initial reaction is trying to reach some sort of equilibrium."

"Great...which means giving a little time it will go away."

"I don't think so, Sir," Sam said in alarm "if things continue like this it probably won't be long before..."

"...we can read each other's minds." Daniel finished.

Sam and Daniel looked at one another and exchanged a nervous smile. This was going to be a nightmare. Daniel furrowed his brow at that last thought, and realized he was actually a little curious about this prospect. It didn't hurt that he couldn't think of anything that he had to hide. Jack put his head in his hands and moaned pitifully.

"Well, Kids," Jack sighed "I suggest you two go get yourselves a pair of dark glasses and a German Sheppard Dog."

"What?" They asked in unison.

"Anyone reading my mind...is bound to go blind."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Daniel Jackson!" Jack snarled. "Stop reading that gibberish, you're driving me crazy!"

"Jack?"

"Oh God...it's happened," Jack said in horror "...hasn't it?"

"Considering we not currently in the same room, and I can hear you like you're next to me? Yeah, I'd say it's happened."

Daniel looked around the VIP room to double check that he was alone. They had all agreed to sleep on Base until they figured out exactly what was going on. General Hammond would be back in the morning and they could talk to him about it. At the moment they were trying to keep it to themselves. Although Dr. Frasier didn't really seem to buy that Sam had 'accidentally' shot Teal'c.

"This is creepy." Jack muttered.

"At least we seem to have a little bit of control over what the other hears."

"Well not enough control."

"I wonder if we tried if we could access each other's memories."

"Don't even think about it." Jack growled dangerously.

"It's too late for that..."

"Look, can't you just go to sleep so that I can?" Jack asked plaintively. "At the very least stop translating."

"I was just trying to block out the equations." Daniel replied defensively.

"The what?"

"These physics equations keep running through my mind, their stuck there like a bad song."

"Sorry about that." Sam's 'voice' entered the conversation. "When I can't sleep I try to rework the math behind faster than light travel."

"Of course you do." Jack muttered darkly. "Why can't you two just count sheep like normal people?"

"Is that what that was?" Daniel mused. "I had sheep in my mind, but felt it safer not to pry into why."

"Same here." Sam chuckled.

"You two seem to be taking this nightmare well." Jack hissed.

"It's an amazing opportunity, Jack, it completely changes everything we know about how the brain works."

"And physics." Sam added with excitement. "I mean, unless the human brain has the ability to send off some sort of radiation or energy it shouldn't be able to effect another. Since there is no evidence that it can...we may have stumbled upon some 'Unwritten Law' of physics or maybe just a loophole. Either way, it's amazing."

"This fiasco does confirm one thing that I've long suspected." Jack muttered.

"What's that?"

"That even if I ever found myself in your minds I'd still never understand either of you."

"Well I can't speak for Sam, at least not yet, but I don't considered myself a very complicated person, Jack."

"Then you've never really considered yourself." Jack retorted with a mental snarl. "Does anyone else have a headache?"

"Yes." Sam and Daniel answered in unison.

"Don't do that."

"Sorry." They chimed.

"For crying out loud!" Jack exclaimed. "Wait...where's Teal'c."

"He's still recovering from me shooting him, Sir." Sam answered meekly.

"I bet he's being shielded from all of this by his meditating." Daniel reasoned. "In such a deep relaxing state he basically thinks about nothing while his symbiot heals him. The symbiot is probably busy with it as well."

"Then perhaps we should all try that, and get some sleep." Jack suggested. "Teal'c taught me how, I can teach you two."

"You probably don't even have to." Daniel pointed out. "Just the fact that you know how means we do as well."

"Then have at it."

"Good idea." Sam agreed.

"No...wait..." Daniel paused. "Bad idea."

"Why?"

"I just had a frightening thought, I'm surprised you can't hear it."

"I'm trying not to." Sam and Jack replied simultaneously.

"Well, that's part of my point. If we fall into a meditative state we'll stop fighting to keep our thoughts to ourselves."

"And?" Jack asked still not seeing Daniel's point.

"We could lose our individuality." Sam explained.

"Exactly." Daniel agreed. "We might wake up as the same person."

Sam and Daniel winced in pain as they felt Jack tearing himself away from the current line of thought. It wasn't long before Daniel felt him storming down the hall. Jack invited himself into Daniel's room.

"Say that again?" Jack demanded vocally.

"Think about it, if we all have access to the same memories, same skills, same knowledge base...in effect we'll be one person."

"And just who will 'we' be?"

"Someone new." Daniel replied. "Someone dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

"Imagine you've got five glasses, each with a different flavour of juice. Pour them all into one container and then back into the glasses. They will all taste different than before, but now they'll all taste the same."

"Why would we be dangerous?"

"Because one of those glasses holds a Gou'ald, I doubt Teal'c can't shield himself from this forever, or even for much longer. And what happens when you add one shot of alcohol to a mix?"

"It spikes the whole thing."

"Right."

"We need to figure out what's causing this fast." Jack said as he scratched at his throat.

Daniel saw a flash of silver peeking out from under Jack's black shirt. He got up to check it out. Jack backed away, putting his hands up defensively.

"Hold still," Daniel grumbled "I just want to see your necklace, I'm not going to kiss you again."

"Again?" Sam's voice giggled.

"Keep out of this Carter!" Jack ordered.

"I don't think she can, Jack."

"Keep away from me." Jack insisted. "You're wearing one too, just look at that."

"I am?" Daniel asked and then reached up. "I am...Sam, do you have one?"

"I do, were did we get them?"

"They...they were a gift." Daniel struggled to remember. "They must be what's causing all of this, something about them makes us forget we're wearing them. Where did we get them? A forest planet..."

"Who cares?" Jack interrupted. "Let's just take them off while we're still thinking about it."

Daniel searched for a clasp, but couldn't find one. The chain was so thin he should have been able to simply break it. However when he tried the chain began to cut into his hand, it had no intention of breaking. He looked up and found Jack in a similar struggle.

"Guys," Sam voiced "I can't get it off."

"We know." Jack and Daniel answered together.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Now, Colonel, please...stop being difficult." Dr. Frasier clucked.

"I am not being difficult!" Jack snapped.

"Yes, you are." Daniel noted.

"Daniel." Jack growled.

"Yes?"

"Keep your thoughts to yourself."

Sam chuckled, which for some reason caught Janet's attention. She turned away from Jack, who was sitting on one of the infirmary beds tearing off a blood pressure cuff. Although he wasn't cursing out loud Jack had all sorts of colourful, or rather off-colour, thoughts at the moment. One in particular made Sam laugh again.

"Sam?" Dr. Frasier asked in an overly concerned tone.

"Sorry, Janet, I know I shouldn't encourage them like that."

Dr. Frasier knit her brow in thought. She waited a moment and turned her attention back to Jack. Tongue depressor in hand she advanced on him.

"Enough of that!" Jack snarled as he pulled away from her. "Doc, I don't have strep throat, looking at my tonsils again is not going to fix this!"

"I'm sorry, Colonel...I...I don't know how to help you." Janet admitted. "I don't even know what's wrong."

"Great."

Janet furrowed her brow once more. She looked like she was about to say something else, but was distracted as General Hammond stepped into the infirmary.

"General, thank God." Jack greeted with obvious relief.

"What's going on with my team, Doctor?"

"Well, I'm not really sure. Teal'c is recovering, but far more slowly than usual, he's still deep in Kel'no'reem. As for the rest of SG1 they have either lost their voices or they've decided to give me the silent treatment."

"Silent?!" Jack exclaimed. "I've been yapping at you for twenty minutes...you're the one who keeps stuffing stuff down my throat to stop me!"

"Oh no..." Daniel and Sam breathed in unison.

Jack didn't know what they were 'oh noing' about, but he suddenly had that creepy icy feeling on his skin that he got whenever he had an unpleasant realization. He looked at Hammond and Frasier as they stared back.

"Well, Colonel?" Hammond asked.

"So far the only noise I've gotten out of any of them is Major Carter laughed."

"They can't hear us." Jack sighed as he caught up with Sam and Daniel's thought.

"We might not even be speaking out loud." Sam mused. "This could all be in our heads."

"You two look like you're talking." Jack pointed out.

"That could be a trick of our minds as well...since it's what we expect to see." Daniel explained. He pressed his hand up against his throat. "Hello? Yeah, I don't feel a vibration...I don't think we're talking."

Daniel got up and walked over to Dr. Frasier. He held up his hand and waved it in front of her.

"Yes, Daniel, I see you." Janet said with a sad smile.

"Well that's a start."

"This was what I was talking about General." Janet sighed in frustration. "Dr. Jackson clearly wants to interact with me, but it's like he doesn't know how."

"I don't...I guess." Daniel agreed. "Not verbally anyway. But I think I can fix that. Can I have your pen?"

"Daniel," Jack interrupted "she can't hear you."

"I wasn't really asking her, Jack, it's just my line of thought that you're picking up on."

Daniel chuckled at Jack's unspoken response. He suddenly wondered how Jack managed not to swear out loud more often considering how foul his inner thoughts seemed to be.

"Extreme self control." Jack explained irritably. "The same thing that keeps me from wringing your neck."

"You didn't even try to hide that last thought."

"Nope."

"Guys," Sam broke into the converstaion "you're making Janet nervous."

"Oh, right, sorry." Daniel apologized needlessly.

He reached out to take Janet's pen away from her. She gave it to him without a fight and even turned over the paper on her clip board so that he'd have a blank sheet to work with. Daniel smiled at her as he took the board and she gave him a nervous smile in return.

"At least facial expressions seem to work." Sam noted.

"Great, we can get jobs as mimes." Jack muttered darkly.

"Mimes..." Daniel repeated in thought. "Weren't we just somewhere that had silent natives?"

"I think so..." Sam started.

"Never mind that," Jack interrupted "just let the Doc know what's going on."

"Right."

Daniel put the tip of the pen against the paper, but he didn't write anything. Sam watched him stare blankly at the page with growing concern. She was deliberately trying to avoid reading any thoughts that he didn't broadcast, but she couldn't keep the sense of fear from seeping into her blood.

"Daniel?"

"Sam...I...I..."

"...don't remember how to write." Jack finished.

"We are rapidly losing our ability to communicate with anyone other than each other." Daniel said in alarm as he handed the clip board back to Dr. Frasier. "How is anyone going to help us if we can't even tell them what's wrong?"

"Ares mekl narist?"

Sam, Jack, and Daniel all froze and started a Janet. She stared right back at them. Daniel turned around slowly to face Jack and Sam.

"Ares mekl narist?" Janet repeated.

"Did...um...any of you catch that?" Daniel asked.

"You already know that we didn't." Sam replied.

"Are you trying to tell me that you know twenty-four languages and you don't know what she just said?!" Jack asked irately.

"Twenty-six...and 'no'."

"Guys, Janet wouldn't use another language." Sam said confidently. "That was English...we just didn't understand it."

"For crying out loud."

"If only we could..."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Janet didn't like the sudden change in Sam's expression. Before Daniel had demonstrated that he couldn't, or wouldn't, write she seemed to be taking her inability to speak calmly. Now she had a look of nervous anxiety, as though she'd just noticed that something was wrong.

Since Colonel O'Neill was clearly in no mood to be helpful Janet stepped up to Sam and offered her the clip board. Before taking it Sam looked to Jack and Daniel, seemingly seeking their guidance. Janet wasn't sure what she got from her teammates but she accepted the gifts. As Daniel had done she put the pen to the page, but stopped there.

"How about something simple, like your name?" Janet suggested softly.

Sam looked up at her with a sad smile and just shrugged.

"Can you even understand me?"

Once again Sam looked to Jack and Daniel. Daniel offered her a similar shrug to the one that she had just given Janet. Jack rolled his eyes in obvious disgust. Janet watched helplessly as Sam turned her attention back to her and forced a silent smile.

"I'll take that as a 'no'." Janet sighed as she took the pen and wrote a simple sentence.

"'Can you read?'" Janet asked.

Once again Janet gave Sam the pen. Sam stared at the page, a look of intense concentration etched into her delicate features. She drew a few random lines under the question and then scribbled them out. Trying again she managed a few letters, but they didn't have any particular order.

Sam held up the clip board so that Daniel could see what she'd written. Reaching out he took the board away and studied for a moment. He chuckled and held out his hand in a silent request for the pen. She handed it over to him.

Daniel jotted down a few letters in English and then added a few symbols from some of the alien languages he'd learned over the years. Daniel showed the clip board to Sam and Janet. Janet looked them over, however, there was no pattern that she could see.

Sam chuckled and Daniel smiled as well as though at some inside joke. He offered the board and pen over to Jack to let him try. Jack snatched the paper off the board and started tearing it into little pieces.

"Well your personalities seem to be intact." Janet noted.

"They all passed their return check up after their last off world visit?" Hammond asked.

"With flying colours."

"And they didn't mention anything odd that had occurred."

"It seemed very routine."

"Any thoughts on what's happening?" The General asked.

"Well if I didn't know any better I'd say they were all suffering from a combination of Broca's and Wernicke's Aphasia."

"Meaning?"

"Well speech and language are basically processed in two areas of the brain. Broca's Area controls our ability to produce speech. To 'find the right words' so to speak. In extremely severe cases of Broca's Aphasia the patient losses all ability to speak, but they still comprehend and can communicate through writing."

"But Major Carter and Dr. Jackson seem unable to write."

"Or read." Janet sighed. "Which is where the Wernicke's Aphasia comes into play. Wernicke's Area is the portion of the brain responsible for language comprehension, both spoken and written. This is a very distressing disorder where the patient can still speak, but their word use is so inappropriate that it doesn't make any sense. People who have recovered from this say that during their condition they could not understand anything being said to them. However..."

"However?" Hammond pressed when she did not continue.

"Sir, both of these conditions are very rare and the chances of all three, possibly four, members of SG-1 suddenly showing signs of both with no signs of trauma are so small that they might as well be discounted."

"Dr. Frasier you should know better by now than to discount anything when it comes to SG-1, improbably or not. What I want to know is how do we reverse it?"

"Reverse it? I don't even know what's causing it."

"I want my team back, Doctor, figure it out."

"Yes, Sir."

"I am going to see if I can talk with Teal'c maybe he has some answers."

"Just be careful, Sir, he does not take well to having his meditation interrupted."

General Hammond nodded and Dr. Frasier watched him leave. Jack got up to follow him, but Daniel held his hand up to stop him. Jack glared at Daniel defiantly for a moment before sighing and sitting back down. Janet briefly entertained the idea that they were somehow communicated with one another. However her medical oriented mind quickly dismissed the thought. It was too bizarre, even for SG-1.

"Okay, guys, I know how much you hate to play 'Lab Rat'," Janet said even though she knew she wasn't being understood "but it's the only way I can even begin to help you."

Janet found herself uneasy by the way that the team looked at one another for a moment and then all turned their unspoken attention back to her. Janet was about to go over to the phone to call down to the MRI technicians when there was suddenly a subtle, yet palpable, change in the mood in the room. She watched as Daniel slowly turned to face Jack and to her surprise he actually curled his lip at the Colonel, like a dog starting a fight.

"Da..." Janet started and then yelped in surprise.

Sam suddenly leapt to her feet and wrapped her arms around Daniel's waist just before he lashed out at Jack. For a moment she managed to hold Daniel back. However, Jack rushed them both with a look of murderous rage painted on his face. They crashed into the infirmary bed in a tangled heap. Getting to their feet they momentarily separated, but then quickly went for one another's throats again.

The three way battle was pure chaos. Each of them seemed determined to kill the other, and yet when one of them would attack the third member did their best to protect the other. To Janet it looked they were each instigating the fight and trying to stop it all at the same time.

It wasn't until Daniel backhanded Jack hard enough to draw blood that Janet snapped out of her shock. She rushed to the emergency alarm and pressed the large red button for additional help.

Two guards had already heard the noise and were in the infirmary almost instantly. However they were not enough to stop the brawl as SG-1 turned their mindless aggression on anyone who touched them. It took three more Airmen to restore peace.

As quickly as it had started it was over. All three of them suddenly stopped struggling against the men holding them apart. Whatever had trigged the violence seemed to have passed. Sam looked to Janet with a heartbreaking expression of terror. Once again Jack and Daniel looked for all the world like they were holding a wordless conversation.

"Dr. Frasier?" The Airman holding Sam asked.

"We're going to have to separate them." Janet sighed.

"Under lock?"

"And guard."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Carter!"

"Yes, Sir?"

"You bit me...again."

"Sorry, Sir."

"It's not like it was her fault, Jack."

"Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c suddenly asked.

"Welcome to the party, T." Jack chuckled.

The whole team cringed as the high pitched squeal of Teal'c's wrathful symbiot sliced through their thoughts. There was a moment silence and then the creature screamed again. When the Gou'ald went quiet again Daniel got the feeling it was more out of sulking than a lack of strength.

"Your friend there has a bit of a temper." Jack mocked.

"Indeed."

"Although I'm not feeling particularly violent at the moment." Sam noted.

"I think when Teal'c was disturbed from his meditating we had to go through that whole calibrating process with them again."

"So why didn't any of us act like Teal'c?" Jack asked.

"I think we did." Sam corrected. "We were trying to stop each other even as we were fighting."

"You didn't attack General Hammond, did you Teal'c?"

"I did not." Teal'c replied indignantly. "I am used to my symbiot's displeasure with me...and those around me."

Once again the symbiot cried out incomprehensibly.

"Well, if we're all going to be living together we should at least try and get along." Jack chuckled. "Teal'c, you're being rude, aren't you going to introduce us?"

"I do not understand." Teal'c replied.

"Jack," Daniel admonished "don't antagonize the symbiot any more than it already is, or Teal'c for that matter."

"I wasn't antagonizing the symbiot," Jack said defensively "I was just asking his name."

"Her." Teal'c corrected.

"'Her'?" Jack repeated. "You've got a girl Gou'ald in your belly?"

"Indeed."

"She's probably pissed about me calling her 'Junior' all of these years." Jack mused.

"That's actually quite interesting." Daniel noted. "I guess I always assumed that male Jaffa carried male symbiots."

"They do." Teal'c informed. "This is not the symbiot I was originally charged to care for. You chose this one for me."

"Oh, that's right. Ry'ac has your original symbiot."

"As fascinating as this is, guys, it doesn't really help us." Jack interrupted. "I assume everyone is locked up?"

"Yeah." Daniel and Teal'c grumbled in unison.

"This poses a bit of a problem." Jack said unnecessarily. "Teal'c...I don't suppose your little girl-friend had any ideas, I mean Gou'ald seem to be masters of escape."

"She is not about to lower herself to speaking to us." Teal'c said bluntly.

"Of course."

"Jack, even if we did 'escape', where would we go?"

"We'll figure that part out later."

Sam was only half listening to the conversation in her head. She was more involved in trying to understand the words being spoken outside her door. She recognized Janet's voice, and she could tell that it was an argument. Beyond that Sam didn't comprehend a word of it.

"Frustrating...isn't it?" Daniel's voice interrupted Sam's thoughts.

"Yeah." Sam sighed. "Something makes me think that I get to be the first 'Lab Rat'."

"Have fun." Jack mocked.

"Jack!" Daniel admonished.

"What?"

Sam chuckled at Daniel's mental sigh. He could finally see that Jack honestly didn't think he'd said anything wrong. She quieted down as Janet stepped into her containment room. She was obviously angry, but when she looked up at Sam she put on her best 'bedside manner' face. Two guards tried to follow her in, but she waved them away.

"Hey, Janet." Sam greeted with a warm smile.

Janet returned the smile, but she couldn't hide her anxiety. Sam looked nervously at the syringe in Janet's hand.

"Sam, what's wrong?" Daniel asked.

"Policy says that she needs to sedate me."

"Nighty, night." Jack chuckled.

Sam chuckled at the way she could sense Daniel rolling his eyes. The mirthful sound seemed to depress Janet further. She pulled the safety cap off the needle and stepped closer.

"Sam, try and convince her not to do this," Daniel instructed "I'm not sure what will happen if she does. Particularly with the Gou'ald here."

Sam winced as the Gou'ald screeched again.

"Teal'c can't you keep that thing quiet?" Jack growled.

"I can not."

Sam thought about her options. When Janet approached Sam flashed her best smile and pulled up her sleeve. Janet froze and just stared at her willing patient. She said something that Sam couldn't understand, but from the tone it seemed like a rhetorical question. Sam just shrugged.

"Sam?" Daniel asked confused. "What are you doing?"

"Trust me."

Janet hesitated for a moment and then recapped the syringe and placed it in her pocket. She chuckled and held her hand out for Sam to take. Followed closely by the two guards they made their way down to the MRI room. Looking around at the lack of personnel walking around Sam decided that it must be latter at night than she'd thought.

Once in the room Sam voluntarily hopped up on the MRI table while Janet bustled about, getting everything ready. Sam had done this so many times that she knew the routine. When just about everything was ready Janet came over forced a smile.

Janet reached out to take Sam's dog tags and at the same time caught sight of the more delicate necklace. She commented on it once more and went to remove it. Sam couldn't believe that they'd forgotten about them again.

When Janet couldn't find a clasp she knit her brow in thought. She started to ask Sam a question, but stopped with an irritated shake of her head. Wanting the necklace off Sam tugged on it and gave Janet a desperate look. Janet tried to break the chain, when she couldn't she turned to one of the technicians and made some order.

"Carter, what's happening?"

"She found my necklace and tried to take it off."

"The metal can't go in the MRI." Daniel pointed out.

"I think she's sending someone to get some wire cutters."

"Why did you not think of this before?" Teal'c asked.

"Because we forgot." Daniel admitted. "Something about them keeps us from remembering them for more than a few minutes at a time."

"I see."

"We should take turns thinking about it to keep this from happening again."

"I will take the first watch." Teal'c offered.

"Let us know when you need a break, T."

Sam brought her attention back to Janet as someone handed her a pair of surgical metal cutters. Although she wasn't nervous Sam's blood suddenly chilled. It took her a second to figure out why.

"Daniel...what's wrong?" Sam asked.

"Um...well...I'm just wondering if cutting the necklace off by force is such a good idea. We are obviously dealing with an extremely advanced piece of technology here."

"I'm going to risk it."

"Carter..."

"Sir, we can't stay like this. I'm not living the rest of my life in that room."

Sam peacefully allowed Janet to take the stainless surgical steel cutters to the delicate necklace. Janet strained to cut the chain. When she failed she called over the stronger of the two guards. He tried and then handed the cutters back to Dr. Frasier.

"Sam?" Daniel asked.

"It didn't work."

"Obviously." Jack grumbled.

"The chain broke the cutters." Daniel sighed. "I doubt there is anything on the Base that can cut through whatever this is."

"I'd love to know what it's made of." Sam mused.

"Carter, let's worry about ourselves right now."

"Yes, Sir."

At an impasse Janet took Sam's hand and guided her off the table. It was far too dangerous to run the MRI with the necklace still in place. There was no telling how the alien metal would react to the MRI's powerful magnets. She was almost back to the containment room when Jack's voice rang out.

"Okay, that's it. I think it's time for plan B."

"Sir?" Sam asked hesitantly. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"What are you tal..." Daniel stopped as he saw their plan. "No, Sam...don't, it's too dangerous."

"Carter I'm not going to make this an order, but you know it's our best shot."

"And you know that I know that, Sir." Sam replied with a wry smile.

"Am I the only one here that thinks this is a bad idea?" Daniel complained.

"Yes." The others answered in unison.

Without warning Sam whipped around. She struck one guard in the stomach and the other in the throat before they could react. They would not be stunned for long. Sam snatched one of the guard's sidearm.

Janet was almost to the Base Alarm when Sam grabbed her from behind. Sam hated to do this, but she wrapped one arm high around Janet's chest and held her captive. The guards were up, but Sam now had Janet at gun point.

"I'm so sorry, Janet." Sam sighed.

The guards treated Sam like any other hostage taker, which was advantageous because she knew what they were going to do before they even did it. Sam made it clear that their normal tactics weren't going to work.

Sam backed herself and Janet up against the door to Jack's room. She tapped the gun on the door in a silent demand to have it opened. The guard begrudgingly complied. Once freed Jack took the other guard's gun, the keys, and then locked them in the room he'd been staying in.

Janet remained calm. Sam was relived that she didn't seem fearful at all. She hoped that her friend knew what she was doing. Daniel did not look pleased when they let him out. He looked at Janet and shook his head sadly.

Once they had Teal'c they made their way through lesser used corridors towards the Gateroom. Coming to the Control room they silently ordered the two night technicians out. They had just locked the Control and Gateroom down when the alarms finally went off. Now that they were sealed in Sam released her captive. Janet pulled away, but didn't go far.

"Carter, get us out of here."

"Where are we going?" Sam asked.

"The last place we went."

Sam put her fingertips on the keyboard and then stared at the computer screen. As she looked over the interface that icy feeling crept back into her blood. She took her hands away from the computer and put them on her hips in frustration.

"Carter?"

"I...uh...can't look up the Address. The text doesn't make any sense to me anymore."

"Oy vey." Jack moaned.

Janet came up next to Sam and looked at the computer as well. After a moments hesitation she put her fingers on the keyboard and started typing. The Gate sprung to life and within minutes an open wormhole shimmered in the ring.

Sam stared at the newly created wormhole and then back at Janet. She could be Court-martialed for this. Janet smiled knowingly and shrugged. Sam laughed and pulled her into a grateful hug. Janet returned the affection and then gently pushed Sam off in the direction of the stairwell that led down to the Gateroom.

"When we get back I'll thank you out loud."

"Hell, after this I say we take her out to dinner, some place fancy." Jack added.

"Assuming we make it back." Daniel grumbled.

"Daniel, I never knew you were such a pessimist."

"Yeah well...I usually just think that sort of stuff quietly to myself."

"Well let's see what we can do about restoring your 'optimism'."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Daniel woke gently without opening his eyes. Which was odd because there hadn't been a morning since Sha're was taken that he hadn't woken with a heart racing start. He didn't worry about that right now, he wasn't worrying about anything. He couldn't remember a time in his life that he'd been so comfortable.

He snuggled deeper into the feather bed like a child that had suddenly realized that it was Saturday and that they didn't have to get up and go to school. The soft comforter he found himself under was so delightfully warm. Completly at peace for the first time in years he started to drift in and out of sleep. Half dreaming he instinctively reached out and pulled the person sleeping next to him closer.

"What the Hell?!" Jack exclaimed.

"Sorry about that." Daniel apologized as he released Jack.

"Daniel, what did I say before about staying five feet from me at all times?" Jack growled dangerously.

"Relax, Jack, you know I'm not gay."

"Right now I wouldn't care if you were the very essence of heterosexuality, back off or I will kill you."

"What's going on?" Sam asked sleepily.

"Jack's freaking out because we woke up in the same bed."

Sam stretched out like a cat in the sunshine after a nap. Laying on the other side of Daniel she propped herself up on one elbow and surveyed their current situation. She chuckled at the sight of Jack fighting with the sea of blankets trying to get away from Daniel.

"I'm a little concerned about it myself." Sam admitted. "But mostly because the last thing I remember was steping through the Gate."

"Same here." Daniel added. "So how did we get here?"

"I brought you here." An unfamiliar female voice said gently.

All three sat bolt up right and looked around their new surroundings. The small room looked like it was on the inside of a hollowed out tree. Light blue orbs suspended on the wall gave off a soft natural light. Teal'c stood by the archway entrance as though he was on guard outside Buckingham Palace.

"Teal'c?" They asked in unison.

"I meant no harm by it." The voice apologized.

"Teal'c, buddy," Jack said hesitantly "I had no idea you had such a feminine side."

"I don't think that's Teal'c, Sir

"It looks like him."

"She meant the voice, Jack." Daniel corrected for Sam. "Hello? Is there someone else there."

"Hello." The voice echoed. "There are many hundreds of us here."

"Oh joy...as if it wasn't crowed enough in my skull already." Jack sighed.

"Where are you?" Daniel asked.

Teal'c suddenly turned away from them to block the archway. After a moment he gave a shallow bow and allowed the High Priestess to enter the small room. Jack finally managed to win against the covers and got to his feet. With some reluctance Sam and Daniel crawled out of the bed on the other side.

"Teal'c?" Jack asked.

Teal'c acknowledged Jack with a smile and a slight nod of his head.

"He can no longer hear you." The Priestess said.

"Why not?" Jack demanded.

"We had to break our connection with him, there is a very vile mind with in him that we were fearful of."

"Teal'c won't hurt you." Daniel said quickly.

"We know." She chuckled. "We can see that it is the creature in his belly that holds such hate, but that it does not poison his heart."

"My name's Daniel, this is Samantha, Jack, and of course Teal'c." Daniel did his usual rounds of introduction.

"It is a pleasure to be able to finally speak with you all, my name is Llandra. I would introduce you to the others, but there are so many of them."

"That's okay." Daniel chuckled.

"Why did you do this to us?" Jack snarled.

"Because it is what we thought you wanted."

"What?!"

"Jack, please, calm down." Daniel pleaded. "Give her a chance to explain, clearly they don't mean any harm."

"Thank you, Daniel." Llandra smiled. "You came here to learn from us...did you not?"

"We did." Daniel agreed.

"Well, we wanted to do the same. We were hesitant at first, it has been thousands of years since we've had strangers here. However, you appeared to be genuine and friendly. You had weapons with you, but it seemed that they were for self defense only."

"They are." Sam nodded.

"So we took a vote and decided that you were worth the risk."

"And this was the only way we could speak to one another." Daniel put the pieces together.

"Exactly."

"If you were so keen to learn from us, why did you let us leave before the whole Vulcan mind melding thing?" Jack asked.

"It was not our place to force you to stay."

"And it still isn't!" Jack snarled

"You are not captives."

"Yes, but we can't go home either." Sam pointed out. "Whatever you have done keeps us from understanding or talking to our friends."

"The necklaces you wear connect you to anyone wearing one, but unfortunately it does affect the mind in such a way that you can not understand those on the outside and your talent for words is lost. But the benefits of interconnection far out weigh the costs."

"I disagree with you one hundred percent." Jack snapped. "Take back your jewelry and let us go."

"If that is what you wish...although I get the feeling that it is not."

"Oh yes it is!" Jack exclaimed.

"You speak for all of your friends even though you are only one of them?" Llandra asked with a wry smile.

Jack looked over at Daniel and narrowed his eyes. Daniel smiled brightly in return. Jack rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration. Llandra chuckled quietly.

"Daniel...you can't seriously want to stay here."

"Just for a few days."

"You're insane."

"No," Llandra corrected "he's just curious...like us."

"Forget it!"

"Why?" Daniel asked.

"Because he doesn't trust us." Llandra answered for him.

"Damn straight I don't." Jack hissed.

"Well I do." Daniel said firmly. "If you listen quietly you can hear their intentions, Jack. They haven't harmed Teal'c, and they aren't going to hurt us. We came here to learn from them, it is pretentious of us not to share information in the other direction."

"Daniel has a point, Sir. This is an amazing opportunity."

"We are very interested in having allies." Llandra added.

"And isn't that the whole point of Gate travel?" Daniel asked. "We always say that we come in peace, but now that someone has shown us peace in returned we're afraid of them."

"Perhaps that's because we almost ended up spending the rest of our lives locked up in the local Asylum for Mimes."

"If you had not returned the necklaces would have run out of power and simply fallen off within a week."

"Why should we believe you?" Jack snarled.

"Because she can't lie." Daniel answered for her. "None of us can, not believably anyway. Jack, please, I want to stay for a little while."

"Fine!" Jack snapped. "But I want this necklace off now!"

Llandra nodded and the chain around Jack's neck broke. The tiny opal fell to the floor where it darkened. He looked over at Daniel and Sam, they smiled silent at him. Still suspicious he glared at Daniel, however, it was clear from the young archeologist's expression that he couldn't hear the derogatory comment that Jack was thinking.

"Are you unharmed?" Teal'c asked.

"I'm fine, T." Jack muttered, he turned his attention to Llandra. "Alright, let Carter go, you can keep Daniel...forever if you'd like."

"O'Neill?" Teal'c asked in alarm.

"It's alright, Teal'c. Danny-boy here wants to stay for a few days."

"For what purpose?"

"Cultural exchange."

Teal'c nodded in understanding. Jack took a step towards Sam. She glanced nervously at Daniel and then looked back at Jack with a shy smile. Jack cursed under his breath and rolled his eyes once more.

"You want to stay too...don't you?"

Sam's only reply was a musical giggle. Jack threw his hands up in the air in surrender. Sam seemed to understand that she has his approval, somewhat. She held up three fingers.

"Fine, but if you're not back in three days I'm coming back here fully armed with no intent of asking questions either before or after shooting."

Daniel and Sam looked silently at one another and then they both chuckled. Jack growled in frustration. Llandra added her laughter to the room. Jack glared at her as well for a moment. Jack took another step closer to Sam and Daniel.

"I just want to state for the record that I think you two are both nuttier than outhouse rats."

"O'Neill, I do not believe that they understand you."

"Oh they understand me...it's them I still don't get."


End file.
